This invention relates to a removable gripping device for a container, particularly a removable handle for a pot or a pan, that can be removed without the user needing to alter his/her grip.
A removable gripping device for a container of the type comprising two members forming a gripper mounted on a gripping body is known, in which one of the members forming the gripper is free to move in translation with respect to the gripping body, along a direction approximately parallel to the longitudinal direction of the gripping body between an open position and a closed position in which the members forming a gripper are adapted to grip an edge of the container, the removable gripping device comprising displacement means adapted to displacing members forming the gripper with respect to each other, said displacement means comprising a lever free to move in rotation with respect to the gripping body between an extended position and a retracted position in which the mobile member forming a gripper is in the closed position, and a transmission means extending between the lever and the mobile member forming a gripper adapted to displacing the mobile member forming a gripper in translation when the lever is pivoted, the removable gripping device comprising actuation means for extension of the lever.
Such removable gripping devices are described in patent applications FR 2 739 772 and FR 2 768 914.
However, when the user wants to release the container from a removable gripping device according to prior art, he needs to alter his grip: rotation of the lever to the extended position caused by activation of the actuation means is hindered by the presence of the fingers or the palm of the hand, and this presence is necessary to impose a back pressure on the gripping body so that the actuation means can be activated by pressure applied by the thumb along a direction approximately normal to the longitudinal direction of the gripping body.
The problem that arises is to make a removable gripping device in which the actuation means are arranged such that the user can manipulate them and move the lever from its retracted position to its extended position without needing to alter his grip, which makes it easier to use.